Our Story
Hi, I'm Sarah - welcome to The Joyful Stitch.
I started taking sewing lessons when I was seven years old, from a woman named Betty Cox. To me, she became "Memaw." Her classes were so popular that new babies were occasionally added to her waiting list to ensure a spot would be waiting for them when they turned six and could start taking sewing lessons.
After losing both of my own grandmothers as a child, Memaw became more than a sewing teacher to me. She became one of my dearest friends and a constant encourager, who always seemed to see the best in me. I took weekly classes from her all the way through high school. When I was twelve I was thrilled to join the handful of teenage apprentices as an assistant teacher.
My mom was often sewing too. There is a fish print sundress that lives in infamy (and has been worn by multiple generations) whose zipper installation is a story of perseverance and determination. Many Decembers, my mom, younger sisters, and I would make Christmas pajamas for our entire family. My mom is a problem solver extraordinaire, always finding a faster, smarter way to get a dozen pairs of pajamas done in time. I think I learned as much about efficiency and ingenuity from her as I learned methods and processes from Memaw.
Sewing has been woven through every season of my life since. In middle school, I'd ask my dad to drive me to the fabric store on a Saturday so I could finish a skirt in time for church the next morning. In high school, I worked at a high-end interior fabric shop and workroom, where I fell in love with fine fabric — and discovered one of my very favorite artistic activities: pulling fabrics together, mixing pattern and texture and tone until a combination just works. In that season, I set up a little booth at a craft fair selling bags I'd made from remnants.
After my first son was born, I helped Memaw continue teaching. I'd bring him along while we taught a few classes a week together. Years later, I taught sewing lessons for homeschool families in our community.
Today I'm a homeschooling mom of five, ages 7 to 15. Three of my kids sew often, mostly on their own, dreaming up open-ended projects of their own design — I love to see the things they create and lend a hand when needed.
A few years ago, in early March of 2020, one of my sons went to the hospital for what was supposed to be a two-hour heart procedure. It took eight. I sat in that waiting room with a hand embroidery kit, and I was so grateful for something to do with my hands while my heart and mind were with him. That day I experienced one of the most beautiful applications of the art I had practiced so long — something to do with my hands while I waited.
That's what I want for your child, too — not just a skill, but a steady place to return to. A way to bring beauty and joy into the world around them. A skill they can reach for whenever they need it — to make, to mend, to create something meaningful. I started The Joyful Stitch because I wanted to pass that on.
With warmth, Sarah
